Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Links: Special "Social Network" Edition.

All Too Flat I haven't said anything about the score to The Social Network but this article says plenty. You know, I agree with pretty much everything in this article -- I also thought that gambit of playing the music so loudly in the club scene that you had to strain to hear their conversation was not annoying like it is in movies with poor sound mixing but actually interesting and important -- but I did have a moment where I wondered if the score would eventually date the movie. And then just as quickly, I realized it probably didn't matter; the song score to The Graduate instantly dates it but that's not a hindrance and it's maybe even a help.

The Film Doctor has 12 notes about the movie. Too many for me to go into right here but I like the 10th note about the twins a lot. Speaking of...

Awards Daily Armie Hammer as "The Winklevi" in The Social Network. I guess I'll just say this right here: I don't get the fuss over his performance. Certainly capable and will justifiably lead to new opportunities but Oscar worthy? Uhhhhh. Oscar worthy is supposed to be performances that are truly special, somehow elevating their material... not performances that do the job well.

The Winklevoss Twins

Salon and Jezebel both have articles about the sexism in The Social Network. This reminds me of the complaints about the lack of black characters on Mad Men. It's what we call intentionally "missing the point"... to a degree I must quickly add. It's not like the articles don't make a few valid point. But I wonder. Salon cites women in high positions at Facebook and Jezebel comments on Zuckeberg's diverse inner cirlce, but neither articles delineates when these omitted people began their relationship with Facebook. It would help the arguments if they were there right from the beginning but so far I haven't read anyone stating that they were. But about the liberties taken and the type of relationships depicted. Like it or not, some men do surround themselves with women that reinforce negative stereotypes about women just like some women go for men who fit neatly into certain easily reductive male types. If what you want is a trophy girlfriend, you're not necessarily going to stumble upon the fully dimensional type. You're going to get the girls who are looking to be trophies and who themselves are not looking for three-dimensional men. You know? That said, Fincher's filmography is a guy's guy filmography... so I understand the frustration. (If what Jezebel says is true about Zuckerberg having gay men and women in his inner circle... or rather if that was true in the time frame dramatized, it is disappointing that it was written out. But one final note in defense of David Fincher in this equation. At least he's got a few classic female characters in his resume, unlike a few other guy's guy directors who aren't often called out for their completely male world view. Between Two Gigs also has a detailed response to these sexism charges.

One of the things that's most fascinating about the movie is that it's so open to interpretation, never truly taking sides. You quickly glean that the movie is not interested in anything like an absolute truth -- which is what makes articles about what's true and what's not kind of beside the point though they're interesting to read -- (and movies that worry about that too much often end up dead as dramatic entertainments). You can listen to the legal arguments and agree that all parties are correct in their own ways. What's your take on all this... we still haven't heard from very many of you about your reaction to the movie?

Distant Relative

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